NEW YORK (Ticker) -- It has taken nearly all season, but Patrick
Ewing again is the go-to guy for the New York Knicks.

Ewing capped a terrific fourth quarter with a turnaround jumper
from the left corner with two seconds left that gave the Knicks
a thrilling and controversial 83-81 victory over the Indiana
Pacers.

It was the second game in as many days that brought back
memories of New York's run to the NBA Finals last season, and
the Knicks won this one. They bounced back from Sunday's
heart-stopping loss in Miami and kept both the Heat and Pacers
in their sights in the race for the best record in the Eastern
Conference.

Ewing scored eight of his 20 points in the tense fourth quarter.
He made three straight New York baskets midway through the
period but saved his best for last, helping in a 3-pointer by
Larry Johnson and making the game-winner.

After Indiana's Reggie Miller tied the game with two free throws
with 15 seconds remaining, Ewing took a pass on the left block,
turned toward the baseline and feathered a 14-footer over the
smaller Dale Davis that sent the sellout crowd at Madison Square
Garden into a frenzy.

"The play was to go to Allan (Houston)," Ewing said. "I was one
of the options. I got a good spot and I was able to hit my
patented shot."

Miller, a long-time Garden villain who made just 2-of-7 shots,
missed a long 3-pointer at the buzzer and the Pacers lost at New
York for the 16th time in their last 18 regular-season visits.

Ewing made 9-of-16 shots and also grabbed 10 rebounds. Over the
last four games, the 37-year-old center is averaging 22.7 points
and 12.7 boards. He began the season on the injured list and
has deferred to Houston and Latrell Sprewell for most of the
season but has taken charge of late, leading the team in scoring
in three of the last four games.

"He continues to give everything he has," Houston said. "He's
extremely determined. We all feed off that because we see how
hard he's working, how competitive he is, how driven he is to
get a ring."

Earlier in the final period, the Knicks took advantage of three
missed free throws by Smits and took an 81-79 lead on Johnson's
3-pointer with 21 seconds remaining. Ewing was underneath and
TV replays showed he tipped it in but he denied touching the
ball, even though Johnson said he did.

"My feet were planted the whole time," Johnson said. "It felt
good when I let it go. It did look like Patrick touched it and
he said he didn't."

After the shot, Johnson flashed the "Big L," his trademark arm
sign from last year's playoffs. The whole scene recalled Game
Three of the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals, when Johnson's
miraculous four-point play stunned Indiana and put New York on
the path to the NBA Finals.

"That was one of the first things I thought of," Smits said.
"Why again, here in New York, same place? A very similar
situation where a referee's call or non-call affected the
outcome of the game. It's very disappointing."

"I was standing right there and I had a better view than the
officials," Pacers coach Larry Bird said. "It has happened to us
before in here. We accept it and move on. What are you going
to do -- get a technical foul? That would really help at that
time, wouldn't it? I told them what I thought and moved on.
You gotta move on when you get calls like that."

Tonight's win came one day after the Knicks were stung by
another playoff memory. On Sunday in Miami, New York lost 95-94
on Tim Hardaway's 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer that recalled
last year's first-round series, when Houston's last-second shot
eliminated the Heat.

"We've been lucky, if you want to call that luck," Sprewell
said. "In a couple of games against them we've played here,
we've definitely had someone on our side. If I was on the other
end I'd probably be saying some of the same things they're
saying. It's tough to swallow. That loss last night for us was
tough to swallow so I understand where they're coming from."

Sprewell also scored 20 points for the Knicks (48-29), who won
for the eighth time in 11 games and pulled within two games of
first-place Miami (50-28) in the Atlantic Division with five to
play. Johnson had 17 points and seven rebounds.

Mark Jackson scored 13 points and Smits added 12 for the Pacers
(51-27), who squandered a chance to move two games ahead of the
Heat in the race for the best record in the East. Miller and
Jalen Rose, each of whom averages better than 18 points per
game, battled foul trouble and scored nine apiece.

The fourth quarter opened with Indiana holding a 64-63 lead,
featured seven lead changes and two ties and was a
one-possession game until the horn. Two free throws by Derrick
McKey and a jumper by Sam Perkins gave the Pacers a 74 71 edge
with 5:12 to play before Ewing tied it with a three-point play.

Ewing followed with a pair of jumpers around a free throw by
Smits to give the Knicks a 78-75 lead with 2:36 remaining. But
he finally missed between jumpers by Travis Best and Smits as
the Pacers grabbed a 79-78 lead with 1:40 left.

Houston missed twice and the Knicks looked dead when Smits was
fouled with 32 seconds left. But he missed both free throws and
Johnson -- with some help from Ewing -- made him pay.

"It came down to a referee's call or non-call that affected the
outcome," Smits said. "Still, if I would have made my free
throws, we would have been even at the end."

"Rik Smits just wasn't there," Bird said. "It's hard to have a
lot of confidence in a guy that dribbles around and loses the
ball and cannot convert the free throws -- at least one of them
-- down the stretch. It is tough to take."

Davis had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers, who shot
just 38 percent (28-of-73) but held advantages of 44-39 in
rebounding and 18-6 in points at the line. Houston scored 12
points for the Knicks, who shot 46 percent (36-of-78).

Rose picked up three fouls in a 22-second span of the first
quarter and Miller joined him on the bench with his second 20
seconds later. Despite the foul trouble, the Pacers got a boost
from Best and trailed just 44-40 at halftime.

Rose finally scored on a jumper with 7:44 left in the third
quarter. That was part of an 11-3 surge that gave Indiana a
55-53 lead.